[jsbird]

Hi all-
Long time lurker, waiting for my car to come in. Here are my details about ordering dates, length of time from ordering to pickup, and initial impressions.

I had been driving a 2009 328i. Love that car, my first BMW. Now all 3 kids have finished college, so less doors were needed, and I always wanted a coupe. My wife gave her Prius to our son, and was shopping for a new one, but didn't like the new ones for some reason. Then she drove my 328i, and said "why don't you buy the new coupe you've been ogling and give me your car". How was I to say no?

Car ordered:
M235i, EBII, Black Dakota, AT8, Premium, Parking assistant.
June 28- ordered and deposit made. Dealer had an open slot that someone had bailed from.
July 18- production complete.
July 26- sailed on the "Otello" for the West Coast. Thanks to the tracking info on this site was able to follow the ship across the seas.
August 20- on schedule, ship arrived at Port Hueneme (Oxnard), BMW's VPC on the west coast.
August 22- BMW phone humans told me that it was cleared to be picked up for delivery on August 25 (after the weekend).
August 25- Told by BMW humans that it was picked up and delivered. Only my CA said that meant that it was picked up by the trucking firm, and could take several days to get to San Diego. Waiting, waiting.
August 26- arrived at El Cajon BMW (San Diego suburb) late pm. So from unloading in port til arrival in dealer was 6 days.
August 27- picked up this morning. The dealer experience was very good- professional all the way. Salespeople and managers came over to ogle, as apparently this was only the 3rd one that they have received.
I then drove it to work, 40 miles by freeway.

Impressions:
Estoril Blue is gorgeous- the photos don't do it justice. Really glad for the choice. Makes my Platinum 328i look like a matron. I like the slightly smaller dimensions compared to the 328i- feels more like a good fitting glove. Driving position and visibility are fantastic. It's not the most beautiful car but it is handsome. The 4 series is prettier, but I found it too big and like the smaller F22.
In Comfort mode, freeway ride was more jittery and less staid than the 328i, more like a colt, but not uncomfortable by any means. And OMG is this thing quick! Even in Comfort, the power for passing made me smile....Brakes seem a little more grabby and less sure than the 328 (best braking car ever), but I suspect that will settle down with time. Surprising was that the Michelin tires, not run flats, had more road noise than the Michelin RFT's on the 328i- not a lot, but noticeable.
After getting home, spent time in the parking garage in my condo going through the iDrive features, putting my settings in, and now reading the manual (yeah, I still do that). The exhaust note in Sport is pretty good- was thinking about getting the MPE, but not so sure now, and will live with it a while to listen to the native exhaust before spending the extra $$$.

Hopefully this gives those of you on the West Coast some idea of the timeline for each step along the way.
And thanks to this community for being supportive, kind to each other, and overall a great source of information.
If any of you see me driving into or out of downtown San Diego, give a shout (or honk) out.
Cheers,
Jonathan

[GOLFFRR]

congrats on the car and more importantly all your kids finishing college that is awesome!

looking forward to some pics!

[pan0205]

thanks for the breakdown, im waiting to pick up my car any day now and sounds good that it was only 6 days from port to dealer.

[BEM-S4]

Congrats and welcome to the club! For what it's worth you happened on to one of the more informed and helpful forums out there, makes having the car more fun, if that's even possible

[DSTR]

In Germany with mine. The brakes will haul you down from a good speed on the Autobahn fast. Dont worry about the braking action. They are superb. Enjoy the car and Sun Diego. I will be in Orange County for a holiday next month! Big congratulations on the M235i!

[danimal]

Very nice!

My story is almost exactly the same, except I handed down an '07 328i, and I went the with a 228i sport line.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats!

[MikeT]

Originally Posted by jsbird

I then drove it to work, 40 miles by freeway.

Only bad part of the story. A new car like this calls for a day off from work.

Seriously, congrats on the new wheels!

[zkeeper]

Congrats indeed!! My counsel is to give the brakes and motor for that matter some time to get friendly in there. It gets better and better.

[dt20011]

Sweet ride, congrats.

[VMRWheels]

Congrats! Looking forward to pics!

[TaiChiSteve]

Welcome, Maybe I'll see you around town. I also have an EB M235i, Terra

[sdpauly]

Congrats!! I have seen a couple around town in the last month or so, but not many...

[jsbird]

Here are some pics of my new M235i EBII from the start of the thread- now 1 day old. Coming- black grills, MPE...
The jpg's here show the color a little lighter than how it really looks. There is a metallic gleam and depth to this color, best seen in last photo close up- really like it.